Essar Oilfields Services (EOSL) has won its first contract outside India, valued at approx $40m from Vietsovpetro JV (VSP), an E&P company operating in Vietnam, for drilling a 4,800mt offshore well with its semi-submersible rig 'Essar Wildcat'.
EOSL claims that it won the contract amidst stiff competition from international drilling contractors like Transocean, Diamond Offshore, Pride International and Neptune Marine Drilling.
Ankur Gupta, CEO of EOSL, said: “This contract demonstrates the confidence of international oil companies in the capabilities of the Wildcat in meeting their HPHT drilling requirements.
“A six-member team from VSP visited the Essar Wildcat in March and found the rig, its crew, HSE practices, organization and management meeting its stringent requirements.”
V Ashok, director of Essar Shipping Ports & Logistics, the parent company of EOSL, said: “Essar Wildcat has demonstrated its drilling capability in India and is now poised to set benchmarks internationally. Our state-of-the-art rig has the capability to negotiate water depths of 600 metres and drill up to 7,500mt.
“We would have invested up to $1bn in this business after the delivery of the two jack up rigs.”
Essar Wildcat has recently completed the drilling campaign of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) in the Krishna-Godavari basin block within the stipulated time frame, the company said.